The “important blank” is just below the pavement of New Jersey's highways, which has been suffering from random sinkholes for the past few months, and state officials say repairs may take longer.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation closed the eastbound lane of the '80s in the Morris County town of Wharton the '80s the past three months after reports of the ground falling out.
In one of these examples, a mammoth sinkhole, the size of a four-storey building, opened on the shoulder of the highway in December, closing the lane for nearly four days while workers scrambled to fix it.
Now officials say they understand why this is happening – they say there is a blank just below the road surface near exit 34. According to NBC 4 New York.
“After finishing the initial test, the good news is there is no immediate concern about the westbound stability of the I-80,” said Fran O'Connor, Transport Commissioner. According to records.
“The bad news is that a significant gap has been identified under the central lane of the I-80 Eastbound, so extensive and robust repairs are required. It will take time to design repairs that ensure long-term integrity and safety of the road,” he said.
“It's important that we take action now to make permanent repairs, so we don't have to come back soon.”
Initially, state officials said the damage caused by depression on February 10 (sunting about 5 inches into the ground) would take about three weeks to fix it. CBS News reported.
But now state officials don't know how long the work will take or when lanes will be reopened.
Officials added that the area has around 135 potential voids and is loaded with abandoned mine shafts.
One such collapsed mine caused a large sinkhole in December.
“The underground is basically Swiss cheese,” says William Cross, executive director of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. He told PIX11 at the time.
According to NBC, crews are digging into the ground to stabilize the road.
They will continue to work around the clock until the work is finished.
